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Lawmakers Could Vote Today On Gov.’s Business Tax Plan

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LANSING (WWJ) – After numerous delays, the state’s business tax and a proposed pension tax – two nagging issues facing Lansing lawmakers – could finally get a vote Thursday.

They’re two items high on Governor Snyder’s agenda. However, the question remains does the Governor’s business tax plan have enough votes to make it to the full Michigan Senate. WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick says it’s in a committee now, but it doesn’t appear there are enough votes in the committee to report it to the floor. The Senate, sometime Thursday, could discharge that committee to set it up for debate.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said he was confident. Doug Rothwell with the Business Leaders for Michigan, when asked about the business tax and jobs, said, “There’s no formula that you could come up with, but what you can look at is if we bring our cost more in line or more compared to the average U.S. state, our growth rate should start to look more like the average U.S. state as well, which is a heck of a big jump from where we are today,” says Rothwell.

WWJ’s Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick says one published report suggests that Republicans have 17 votes to pass the governor’s plan, which is just three shy of what is needed. The governor is expressing optimism over the process. Skubick says the Democrats are not going to provide any yes votes on this plan, which is the centerpiece of the governor’s budget.

The governor’s business tax also includes the very controversial pension tax on some retirees, which is a tough selling point in the debate for many Republicans along with the Democrats.